During past service issues after major storms, Metro-North officials have rejected credits to monthly pass holders when service was unavailable. Officials claimed that monthly ticket prices already represented a significantly discounted rate from daily and other tickets.

But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has been quick to point out that the blown electrical line in Harrison was not weather-related. He also was told during a Monday morning conference call with MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast that a decision on refunds would be made soon.

"Obviously what we're talking about is people who buy their ticket by the week or the month," Malloy said during a news conference in the state's emergency operations center. "There's a possibility it will be a cash credit. I suspect what it will ultimately be is a credit toward a future purchase.

"So if you had a week's ticket and you were only able to use it three days, then you should be compensated. If you had a month's ticket, you should be compensated for it," Malloy said. "Even though, by the way, they had some level of service, we know a lot of people have been affected adversely and a lot of people chose to stay home, thankfully, the first couple days of this event."

Malloy confirmed that Metro-North and the MTA have moved up the schedule for re-establishing a permanent connection in Harrison from Oct. 14 to Oct. 7.

"It is unclear whether that connection will be made early enough on the 7th of October to allow for restoration of service on the 7th or on the 8th," Malloy said. "That is an open question."

Malloy also said he requested a study on the vulnerability of single-line electrical service.

"I think they're going to have to develop a new protocol so that we don't have one-line feeds ever again on the system," he said.

Metro-North usually uses two power lines, but one line was down for maintenance last week when the Harrison line failed.

The governor said that as of 8:30 a.m. Monday, compared to a normal commuter day of 17,900 riders, the New Haven line had carried 13,400 riders, "many of those having to stand while they were on the train."